Mad Men Roundtable – “The Good News”

(Of course, there’s also the more obvious point that he wouldn’t be constantly unfaithful to somebody he really loved.)

But regardless of how he felt about Betty, the marriage was safety.  He still had somebody who loved him, even when he didn’t think he was the kind of person who could be loved.  It made him a part of civilized society.  And for Betty to leave him for another man, that shakes Don to his core.  He lost.  Don Draper doesn’t lose.  Like Austin Powers, he lost his mojo.  And there’s a difference between the charming guy with a wife and kids, and the charming divorced guy – especially then, being divorced indicated a failure.  Something was so wrong with him that his wife had to leave.  Don needs a win, either personally or professionally, or it’s just going to get worse.  Failure breeds desperation, which spawns more failure.  It’s a weird cycle for Don.